


Let's Stay Together

by TheSchubita



Series: The Big 80's Movie Mash-Up AU [4]
Category: The Breakfast Club (1985)
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Gen, how they stayed together, it's very fluffy at the end, mostly teenage angst, slight angst, what everyone was wondering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-09
Updated: 2015-01-09
Packaged: 2018-03-06 20:27:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3147530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSchubita/pseuds/TheSchubita
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Breakfast Club learns how to become better human beings, together.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Let's Stay Together

**Author's Note:**

> So, I'm kinda nervous about this one. I have read various fics where their circle has already been established, but I never found one that describes how that happened. So I decided I'd give it a try. I hope you like it!

Bender was feeling slightly anxious when he strutted into Shermer High on Monday. He knew he probably shouldn’t. It would be just the way before. Bender would hang out with his gang as usual, bum around the school and scaring little freshmen off, while Brian would get excited over some shit experiment with other nerds, Andy and Claire would be surrounded by their exclusive clique – Bender couldn’t help but sneer – and being doted on, and Allison would – Bender stopped.

What _would_ Allison be doing?

 _“I don’t have any friends,”_ Allison’s voice echoed in Bender’s head. Bender swallowed. A girl who walked past looked at him weirdly (to be fair, he must have looked rather dumb, standing in the middle of the hallway, gaping like a fish). He shot her his most frightening smirk and licked his lips suggestively. Her eyes widened, and she quickly scuttled off. Good.

He furrowed his brows. He hadn’t lied when he’d said he’d seen Allison around. And she was _always_ alone. Even the bullies who bullied everyone seemed to make a wide berth around her. He looked at the time. He had Mr. Emerson in first period. Mr. Emerson was pretty chill anddidn’t care if he showed up or not, as long as he didn’t disturb his class. He shrugged, starting towards the direction of the football field. And even if he should get into trouble, it wasn’t as if he gave a flying shit about one more detention.

.

Andy hadn’t seen any of the others (The Breakfast Club, as Brian had dubbed them, and Andy couldn’t help but smile fondly) and he didn’t know if he was happy about it or disappointed. Happy because he didn’t look towards the confrontation it would undoubtedly lead to, and disappointed because, well, he _liked_ those kids from Saturday (though Bender _was_ an asshole, and Claire _was_ a bitch). At the very least, they were all way more interesting than his buddies from wrestling. Lobotomy indeed. He sighed, nodding absently on something Tommy was saying, not really listening. He thought he saw Bender from the corner of his eyes, but when he turned around, Bender was already out of sight. Just when he was about to turn around to the one-sided conversation with Tommy, he heard;

“Are you lost, nerd?” a scathing voice asked. Andy turned to the direction where the voice had come from. And then he stopped dead in his tracks.

 _“Brian?”_ he asked, torn between feeling hysterically amused and just plain hysterical. Brian was looking as if he was about to faint any moment, and was clutching what must have been the biggest book in the history of ever close to his chest. When he heard Andy, he gulped, but squared his shoulders, and marched up to Andy. The other jocks looked either too dumbfounded to move or murderous. Brian stopped a few steps before Andy.

“Hi,” Brian said, smiling unsurely. And wasn’t that the ~~bravest~~ dumbest thing Andy had ever seen someone do. Brian was a jock’s wet dream for bullying, and yet Brian had dared to walk up to Andy, surrounded by some of the worst kind of jocks, just to prove he _would_ say hi. Andy was honestly impressed.

“Hi,” Andy said back. Brian smiled, lighting up his entire face. Andy smiled too, but he was hyper-aware of the others giving them the stink eye.

“Clark,” Tommy said slowly. “Why is that nerd talking to you?” Brian flinched at the vicious tone, smile disappearing. Andy wanted it back. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, another of his buddies butted in.

“Ah, the little fag probably heard about dear Larry and wanted to have a firsthand experience. Right, nerd?” Brian took a small step back, eyes wide. Andy gritted his teeth.

“Look-“ Andy started to say, but was interrupted again.

“Well, who are we to deny him such an experience,” one laughed. He turned to Andy, not noticing his dark expression. “Clark, would you like to do the honors?” Brian was looking at him, face unreadable. Andy wondered if he was thinking about what he had told the others about Larry Lester.

“No,” Andy said slowly. There was a beat of silence.

“Uh, that’s great, that means we-“ Tommy started, but Andy interrupted.

“I don’t think you understand,” Andy said calmly. “I didn’t mean _I_ don’t want to do it.” The others stared at him, not quite understanding what he was trying to say. “I meant that _no one_ is going to do _anything_ like that to him. Ever,” he clarified.

“But Larry- You-“ one started. Andy shook his head.

“I never should have done that to Larry. It was wrong.” Tommy screwed his face up.

“What happened to you, Clark? Did you get brainwashed on Saturday?” Andy snorted.

“No, the opposite,” he shrugged. He moved to stand next to Brian, casually removing a wayward hand that was gripping Brian’s upper arm tightly. He threw one arm around Brian’s shoulders. “Brian’s a cool guy. You mess with him, you mess with me,” he told them evenly. There was dead silence for a moment.

“Ooh, I _get_ it, Clark! Really clever!” another guy, Randy, suddenly exclaimed. Everyone turned to stare at him. Randy grinned. “Don’t you see? He befriended the nerd so he can get good grades. I guess in exchange you promised you’d let him hang around with us, yeah?” There were various sounds of understanding and agreement from the other guys.

For a brief moment Andy wondered if he should just leave it at that. It would certainly make things easier in the long run. But then he chanced a glance at Brian. Despite his height, Brian looked rather small. Defeated. Andy sighed.

“Nope,” Andy said. Everyone turned to face him again. “Like I said, Brian here is a cool guy. I did become friends with him on Saturday, but no because he’s going to do my homework. I’m doing well enough.” Andy felt Brian tense up. He unconsciously drew him in closer.

“But, he’s just a nerd,” Tommy spit out. Andy ground his teeth.

“That _nerd_ ,” he empathized the word, “has a name. It’s Brian. He’s a friend. If you have a problem with that, I don’t really give a shit, but you’ll leave him alone from now on.” He took a breath. Brian was staring at him like a child would stare at Santa. The other jocks were staring at him with as if he’d grown a second head. Then everyone started talking (yelling) at once.

“I don’t believe you, Clark!” Randy exclaimed, yelling louder than anyone else. “I mean, what, are you like, fucking each other? Are you a _fag_? Why the fuck would-“

Andy punched him. Randy went down like a sack of potatoes.

“What the fuck?” Randy yelled, holding his (probably broken) nose. “Don’t even bother coming near our table at lunch, you fuck! I’ll see to it that you’ll have detention until you die!” Andy nodded.

“Don’t worry, I’d rather sit with a stinking troll than with you,” he replied. “Come on, Brian,” he said, tugging the lanky boy quickly away from the flock of jocks. Brian followed, gaping like a fish. Andy didn’t stop walking until he could disappear into a different hallway, away from the view of his wrestling buddies. Then he stopped, turning to Brian.

“Are you absolutely _insane_ , Brian?” he said, not quite yelling, but it was a close thing. Brian flinched. “They would have creamed you if I hadn’t said anything! Why would- you had no idea if I’d stand up for you! Jesus,” he exhaled. Brian smiled.

“But you did, didn’t you?” Brian replied. Andy groaned.

“Yeah, but even _I_ wasn’t sure if I would. I was thinking all Sunday about how or even _if_ I’d greet you if I saw any of you, and I honestly hadn’t decided by the time I came through these doors today.” He looked at Brian, who was still smiling. “But I guess you took matters in your own hands, yeah?” Brian gave him an innocent look. Too innocent. Andy snorted, prompting a giggle out of Brian. Brian sobered up.

“I’m sorry about earlier, though,” Brian said. “You’re gonna have detention again, aren’t you?” Andy shrugged.

“Maybe,” he said easily. Brian looked rather guilty. “No, don’t do that, Brian. It was worth it,” Andy told him. “And besides, I won’t be alone. Bender has fifteen Saturdays to sit, remember? Won’t be too bad.”

“But- won’t your dad be pissed?” Andy smiled darkly.

“Yeah, he will.” Brian fidgeted.

“Bender is such a bad influence on all of us, right?”

Andy just laughed. “That he is.”

.

“Hi sweets,” Bender chirped. Allison just kept drawing. “So, I was wondering if you wanted to blow off first period with me,” he said, wagging his eyebrows at her. She spared him barely a glance.

“Hi, John,” she said. Bender scowled. Allison kept drawing.

“Why are you painting on the wall?” He asked her. The picture was coming along pretty well, he noted.

“I ran out of paper to draw on,” she replied. Bender grinned.

“So you decided to deface school propriety instead. I approve.” She just nodded. There was a stretch of silence, where none of them said anything. Bender watched her draw with rapt attention. Suddenly, she turned around.

“Do you want to draw with me?” She asked.

“I thought you’d never ask.” He took a brush. “What are we drawing?”

“We are drawing secret symbols on the wall. The government made a deal with The Devil for World Domination in exchange of a sacrifice, and Shermer High has been volunteered. These symbols are for marking the chosen school.” Bender stared at her for a full minute. Then he erupted in a fit of laughter. Allison just went back to painting.

.

The cafeteria was packed. Andy was balancing a tray with what looked like brown goop but was actually chili in one hand, while steering Brian in the direction of the tables at the back. He was well aware of the stares most students shot them. The rumor that he had ditched his wrestling buddies for a nerd had spread like wildfire. Presumably, everyone had a different theory as of why, but Andy really couldn’t care fucking less. Brian, unused of all the attention, was fidgeting, but let himself be steered nonetheless.

“Ignore them,” Andy muttered. “They’ll have forgotten about it in a few days, trust me.” Brian shook his head.

“You don’t have to do this, Andy,” he said quietly, sitting down on one of the last free tables. Andy sat himself across Brian. “Don’t get me wrong I’m really happy you’re doing this, but we can, like, hang out after school.” He cast a quick glance at Andy, who was looking at him intently. “I don’t want to make things hard for you,” he finished. Andy was quiet for a moment, before he replied.

“You’re not making anything hard. It’s my choice to sit with you. And if anyone has a problem with it, they can fuck right off,” he finished vehemently.

“That was a very motivating speech. I feel inspired already,” a voice said from somewhere beside them. Bender flopped gracelessly into the seat next to Brian, while Allison sat down next to Andy. “Brainiac, Sporto,” he nodded at them, while reaching for Brian’s lunch. Brian let him, blinking at him curiously. Andy felt a rush of relief welling up inside of him.

“Hey,” he said, after answering Bender’s nod. He looked at Allison. “Hi,” he said, smiling at her. She looked at him, but instead of smiling she simply yanked him by his collar, bringing him close, before kissing him fervently.

“Whoa,” he heard Brian say, but it barely registered in his mind. Damn, but Allison was… thorough. She finally let him go, licking her lips, leaving Andy completely out of breath. Andy was getting more flustered by the second. Bender and Brian were laughing tears.

“Oh man, you’re _whipped_ ,” Bender choked out between laughs. Andy blushed slightly, but flipped him off anyways.

“And you’re an asshole,” he replied. Brian giggled.

“No news there,” Bender said, smirking. “So, we’re really doing this, eh? The “Breakfast Club”, defying society’s standards and all that crap.” The all went quiet.

“I- I guess?” Brian started. “I mean, I’d like to, but, uhm, if you guys don’t wanna, it’s-“

“Shut up, Brian,” Bender and Andy said simultaneously. Andy continued, ignoring Brian’s pout.

“Well, I already told the other guys from wrestling off, so,” Andy shrugged. Bender grinned.

“Yeah, and broke that asshole’s Randy Cormack nose,” Bender said, sounding delighted. “I heard he was crying like a little girl the whole way to the nurse.”

“You say that like that’s a good thing,” Brian said dubiously. Bender smirked lazily at him.

“And who said it isn’t?” He asked. Andy tried to hide the chuckle, but failed utterly. “So, sporto, you got detention?” Andy shrugged.

“Yeah, but only two more Saturdays. I told the principal that Randy was using derogatory terms and threatened a fellow student, that I defended. It’s totally cool,” he added quickly, when he saw Brian’s face fall.

“I got detention for next Saturday too,” Allison said suddenly. Andy raised an eyebrow.

“For real?” Allison nodded. “What did you do?”

“My plot to assassinate the principal was discovered,” she said. They all stared at her. Brian coughed, muttering “compulsive liar” under his breath. Ah, that made more sense.

“She defaced school propriety and confessed when we got caught,” Bender replied in her stead. Andy sighed.

“You really _are_ a bad influence on everyone, aren’t you,” he told Bender. “Next we now is that Brian ditched town to run away with a stripper.” Brian choked at the idea, and Bender let out a startled laugh.

“Hey, to be fair, she was already painting when I found her,” Bender said. “I merely assisted.”

“Uh-huh, and you’re telling me you left before you got caught,” Andy said dubiously.

“Nah, but it was just Carl who caught us,” Bender said. “Wasn’t even going to rat us out, as long as we’d help him clean, but _madame_ over there insisted.” Brian and Andy turned to Allison.

“Why in the world did you do that?” Brian asked. Allison smiled.

“I knew Andy and Bender would be there,” she said simply. Andy blushed slightly, and raised his eyes towards the ceiling.

“Aww, you’re pretty cute when you blush,” Bender cooed. Andy rolled his eyes, not bothering replying. He felt Allison grab his hand, and he blushed harder.

“There is still someone who should be here,” Brian said quietly. They looked at him. “I- I mean, do you think Claire-“

“We’ll see if the princess will dignify us with her presence,” Bender said calmly, but they all saw him jiggling his leg in anticipation.

.

Claire wasn’t having a good day. She had woken up, feeling exhausted from lack of sleep, her hair was a mess and _people wouldn’t stop talking_.

“Did you hear? Andrew Clark almost killed Randy Cormack for a nerd!”

“I heard he broke all of his fingers!”

“ _I_ heard he has a love affair with that nerdy kid, that’s why he beat up Randy!”

“Whoa, for real? I never took Andy for a fag!”

“… he really broke his …”

“… but he was always kinda weird …”

“… I don’t think …”

“Ugh,” Claire muttered, too silent for anyone to hear. Everyone was talking but no one was saying something interesting. She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on. Susan, one of the quieter girls in their preppy group turned to Claire.

“You alright? You look-“

“Disgusting?” Claire said. “Yeah, tell me about it. Didn’t sleep much.”

“Hey, Claire,” Boyd interrupted them. Boyd was a nice guy, as far as guys went, but Claire couldn’t help wishing it was Andy or Brian, or even Bender she was talking to. “Do you know anything about Andy? You were in detention with him on Saturday, right?” Claire groaned.

“Yes I was, and no, I don’t know anything about Andy and Bri- some nerd.” She bit her lip, feeling bad for calling Brian a nerd.

“Whoa, okay, Claire, no need to get prissy,” Boyd held up his hands defensively.

“Yeah, Claire, are you having your special time of the month?” A girl from the right said, giggling. Claire turned to her, glaring. The girl took a surprised step back

“We’re going to be late for class, and I certainly don’t want another detention on Saturday,” she said, walking away with her head held high. Excited chatter exploded behind her.

“Oh my gosh, what’s with _her_?”

“Do you think this has anything to do with…”

“… wonder if it’s contagious…”

“Maybe she and Andy _and_ the nerd…”

Claire felt the sudden urge to hit her head against the wall. This was going to be a long day.

.

As lunch approached, Claire wanted nothing more than to bolt. The rumors of Andy and Brian (nobody called Brian by his name, and Claire had to bite down the urge correct them every time) had just gotten worse over the span of the morning. She was afraid if she saw the two of them of how she’d react (if she’d react). Andy wouldn’t have been a problem, initially, but Brian was another thing. And now both of them had decided to turn the school’s unwritten rules upside down, and she really couldn’t greet any of them, because, what would her friends say? She’d be as much of an outcast as Allison or Bender were.

But-

The bell rang to lunch and Claire wished there was a hole who would swallow her up.

.

“Oh my god, _look_!” Mandy exclaimed, pointing at the far back of the cafeteria. Everyone in their group turned, immediately starting to whisper. Claire turned her head reluctantly. She had an idea what was going on. And indeed, there they were, the Breakfast Club, laughing and chatting, everyone accounted for. ‘ _Everyone except me,’_ Claire thought. Luckily, the cafeteria was so loud they hadn’t heard Mandy’s yell of surprise, and thus hadn’t noticed Claire. She partly hid behind a few of friends as they walked to their usual table. Claire felt incredibly relieved none of her Saturday friends had seen her enter as she sat down. She barely listened to the raging conversations going on around her, pushing her cucumber salad around her plate instead.

She listened to the scathing words her friends said about Allison, Bender, Andy and Brian, and she felt sick.

.

“She’s here,” Brian said quietly. They all shut up immediately, gazes shifting to the “popular” table. Claire was seated almost at the edge of the table (she usually sat in the middle), looking uncomfortable. She wasn’t talking to anyone, and they could see why. Almost everyone at Claire’s table was sneaking looks in their direction, and you could almost _taste_ the gossip.

“She looks miserable,” Allison said. Bender frowned.

“Well, no one is forcing her to sit with them.” Andy opened his mouth to defend Claire, but Allison was faster.

“Don’t be an idiot,” she told Bender. Bender bristled, but Allison was talking again. “She’s more sensitive to all the social hierarchy crap than any of us, even Andy. Besides, she hasn’t had the chance to properly react to any of us. Give her time,” she said. Brian nodded, but Bender looked like he had just tasted something extremely sour.

“Well, she didn’t exactly make an effort, did she?” He countered.

“Neither did I,” Andy said. Bender turned to him. “If Brian hadn’t walked up to me this morning I’d probably sit at that table over there,” he pointed to the table of the wrestling team. Randy and Tommy looked at him with murderous expressions (they had for the past half hour). Andy casually gave them the finger.

“But you’re not,” Bender pressed. “You punched that asshole and showed where you stand. I don’t see Claire punching anyone. And I bet you a million dollars her _friends_ ,” he spit that word out like it was poison “are talking about us the same way that bitch Randy did. And yet, she’s _still sitting with them_.” He ground out. Andy wanted to desperately point out Bender was getting more agitated over Claire than he should, but he liked breathing.

“Oh shut up,” Brian sighed. They all stared at him. “Claire is not like us. Unlike you, she’s afraid at what everyone might think of her, because she was raised that way. It’s hard for her to stand up for herself because she wasn’t taught to how.” Brian took a breath before adding quietly, “But that doesn’t mean she’s not going to do it. I trust her.” They all just looked at him in awe, before Bender clapped him on the back.

“We might make something out of you yet.”

.

She listened to her friends go on and on about her- _other friends_ and Claire wanted to stand up and scream at them all. She formed a fist with her delicate fingers, swallowing the words threatening to come up with great difficulty. How could people just make up the worst possible about people they never even talked to? She couldn’t bring herself to participate, for whenever someone said something biting about the group seated at the back of the cafeteria, all she could think about was how lonely Allison was, wary of the brief kindness Claire had shown her. Or how angry Bender felt at the world, for something he couldn’t change. How Andy and Brian were under so much pressure by their parents. How Andy had taped Larry’s buns together just because of an offhand comment of his dad. Or that Brian wanted to kill himself because of a _lamp_.

Through the fog of her thoughts, she heard Mandy’s voice, “… he even looks like a bum. I mean look at his clothes- I bet his parents must feel so ashamed-“ Claire shot up before she could stop herself, her chair clattering to the ground.

“Shut up you airheaded _bimbo_!” she yelled. The cafeteria went dead silent. Claire cast a quick glance around. Everyone was staring at her in shock. She swallowed. ‘ _Oh, what the heck, I might as well finish what I started,_ ’ she thought. She leaned forwards slightly, putting her hands on top of the table, facing Mandy. She imagined how Bender would act in a situation like this. She wished she had his “fuck-you” attitude.

“You don’t know him,” Claire said. She turned to face her other peers on her table. “None of you do. And you should be ashamed to talk about people like that if you don’t know their full story. I don’t want to be like this. I never did! I never liked it. So- just. Shut up.” All of her peers stared at her disbelievingly.

“But-“ Boyd started, confused. “It’s what- what we do.” He frowned. “It’s what _you_ do.” Claire nodded.

“I did. And that was shitty of me. But that’s not me anymore.” She rose to her full height. All students were whispering furiously about her display. Claire didn’t dare to turn around to face her- friends. She was still so afraid of how people would see her, even the ones she knew wouldn’t care. She felt tears prick her eyes, but she swallowed them all down. She would not cry in front of the whole school.

“Aw, that’s so cute Claire,” Jake said. She turned to look at him in confusion. What? “You have a _crush_ on that weirdo, right?” Everyone started laughing, but there was an insecurity in it. She put her hands on her hips.

“Oh, yes, that _must_ be it, right?” She huffed. They were all silent immediately. “It couldn’t be that he- _they_ are decent human beings I like hanging out with? That one of them holds a more interesting conversation for five minutes than all of you put together could in a whole term? But, _of course_ , I must have a crush on him because it couldn’t be that I simply want to be around people that _don’t make me completely miserable every single day of my life_!” she yelled that last part. Loudly.

You could have heard a pin drop. Claire took her tray, and marched to the table her true friends were sitting at. She held her head high, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. She stopped before their table. They were all staring at her with varying degrees of awe and amusement.

“Can I sit here?” She asked. She heard voices exploding behind her like a firework, but all her attention was focused on the four people before her. Bender was the first to recover from his shock.

“Well, how about we think about it and-“ Brian elbowed him violently, cutting off the sarcastic remark. He smiled at Claire, braces showing.

“Please, sit.” Claire smiled back, sitting down next to Brian. She cast a shy smile at Andy and Allison.

“Hi,” she said. Allison tiny smile grew into a full one, before turning her attention back to her cereal-toast. Andy just nodded in reply, looking equally satisfied and relieved, and maybe even proud.

There was a beat of silence between them.

“I am so proud of you princess. I can honestly say I never doubted you for a second here-“

“Shut up,” they all replied at once. They all looked at each other, before bursting into heaps of laughter.

As they watched the chaos that they had caused unfold in the cafeteria, people whispering and yelling and pointing, they found they really didn’t care about any of those people at all.

“This is going to be great,” Brian said, watching the chaos with barely contained glee.

The others couldn’t help but agree.

**Author's Note:**

> How was that? 
> 
> I think this could have been how it went down, if they really wanted to. I mean, since this is reality, it's probable that they went mostly back to their own lives, and started to change things gradually about themselves. But since this is NOT reality, I decided they're all way too stubborn for the hierarchy crap American high schools seem to have (I mean, I'm obviously not American, so) and simply would tell the world to go fuck itself with its expectations. I mean, Bender has already that fuck you attitude down to an art and Allison is way to different to have ever been considered status quo. I think next to give up pretenses is Andy, because despite him being a jock, he is a very genuine person, who cares about people, and he is sensitve. I think with Andy, that Saturday may have really been a turning point for him. 
> 
> Now Brian and Claire, that's a bit different. I found it harder to write those two, especially Claire. Brian is, for lack of a better expression, meek. While he certainly is a sarcastic little shit, he is much more a little soldier that doesn't question authority naturally, as opposed to Andy, he doesn't find necessarily the problem with his parents, (though he is aware that the pressure comes solely from them) but he rather searches the root of the problem within himself. He is a person that seems to prefer to keep his head down and do as he's told. Nevertheless, he is a smart boy, and while he doesn't have the finesse for certain social cues, he's not an idiot. His sarcastic remarks gave me the impression as if there is a spark of rebellion just waiting for the right moment. Also, the essay he wrote Dick was probably the most polite "fuck-you" I've ever heard, so. 
> 
> Like I said, Claire was the most difficult to write / to interpret. Mostly, because I find her hard to read. To the world, her posh, slightly bitchy attitude is like a wall of protection, but she's using it so frequently she's not very aware of her inner self. Because, behind that wall is a shy and kind girl, that's very vulnerable. While her parents don't seem to pressure her academically, people around her expect her to be a certain way all the time, and she is slowly suffocated by it. Like many girls, she wasn't taught how to think for herself, to act in her interest, and it shows. But, with the right push and right friends, I think Claire has the potential to outshine everyone. I wanted to show a tiny glimpse of that spark.


End file.
